2. When it comes to predicting storms, maybe the Europeans have us beat.

2. When it comes to predicting storms, maybe the Europeans have us beat.

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Call it the global forecasting war. Like the airplane wars of Airbus vs. Boeing, it's about technology superiority. And after the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts scored a big win in Sandy by forecasting the storm¿s sharp left turn into the Northeast days before U.S. models, the National Weather Service was shaken. The U.S. agency rolled out vast computer enhancements in May, and the agency's new head admitted in a Reuters story that the Europeans have us beat -- for now. A prominent critic of the NWS, Cliff Mass at the University of Washington in Seattle, told Reuters and National Geographic it will be tough to catch up. Read more: National Weather Service Gets Big Computing Boost CAPTION: Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012, with winds of 90 mph and a pressure of 954 mbar.

Call it the global forecasting war. Like the airplane wars of Airbus vs. Boeing, it's about technology superiority. And after the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts scored a big win in Sandy by forecasting the storm¿s sharp left turn into the Northeast days before U.S. models, the National Weather Service was shaken. The U.S. agency rolled out vast computer enhancements in May, and the agency's new head admitted in a Reuters story that the Europeans have us beat -- for now. A prominent critic of the NWS, Cliff Mass at the University of Washington in Seattle, told Reuters and National Geographic it will be tough to catch up. Read more: National Weather Service Gets Big Computing Boost CAPTION: Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012, with winds of 90 mph and a pressure of 954 mbar. (U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Call it the global forecasting war. Like the airplane wars of Airbus vs. Boeing, it's about technology superiority. And after the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts scored a big win in Sandy by forecasting the storm¿s sharp left turn into the Northeast days before U.S. models, the National Weather Service was shaken. The U.S. agency rolled out vast computer enhancements in May, and the agency's new head admitted in a Reuters story that the Europeans have us beat -- for now. A prominent critic of the NWS, Cliff Mass at the University of Washington in Seattle, told Reuters and National Geographic it will be tough to catch up. Read more: National Weather Service Gets Big Computing Boost CAPTION: Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012, with winds of 90 mph and a pressure of 954 mbar.